The Square Enix Café in Osaka Will Have Its Last Day on August 31

Danica Davidson August 16, 2021

The Square Enix Café in Osaka, which debuted in 2017, will unfortunately have its last day on August 31. When Square Enix made this announcement, it did not give a reason. In fact, the announcement is pretty short, and it opens with thanking people who have come to the café. There’s a good chance, though, that the closure is COVID-related, as quarantine has seen many major businesses have to close after not doing well under social distancing circumstances. The statement the café put out ends with asking people to take care of themselves and be careful not to get infected.

The good news is that the Square Enix Café in Tokyo will remain open, so hopefully it won’t be going anywhere. The statement about the Osaka closing does ask that people continue to give the Tokyo location patronage.

Both the Tokyo and Osaka cafés are known for offering limited time menus that are angled around various Square Enix franchises. And of course they sell Square Enix merchandise. Square Enix has played around with cafés for a bit, and their first permanent Square Enix café was opened in the Akihabara part of Tokyo back in 2016, a year before the Osaka café opened.

While anime, manga and video game sales have really skyrocketed, other forms of otakudom have not done so well. The news of the Square Enix Café closing comes shortly after the news of Sega Ikebukuro GiGO arcade in Tokyo announcing its final days. Arcades have been especially suffering, since many people would rather play video games at home during a pandemic. The Silk Hat Ikebukuro arcade, Adores, and The Sega Akihabara Building 2 all previously shuttered during the pandemic. The Tokyo Olympics was hoping to boost tourism in Japan, but the timing did not work out for that.

Source: ANN

____

Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, and its sequel, Manga Art for Intermediates, with professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.